LET US PRAY
SCHOOL PRAYER
St Augustine, our patron saint. You loved God with all your heart.Teach us to live God’s word through respect for ourselves,others and the world around us.May God always bless St Augustine’s school. May God walk with us and be beside us. May God help us to grow into a strong, loving and peaceful learning community. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen
Loving God, we come to you at this new beginning of the school year. We have been many places during the summer and our journey has brought us back to this place and to this time together.
As we turn towards you as the school community of St Augustine’s we begin by saying thank you— thank you for this call to service in this community. Thank you for where we are on our journey and for the journey ahead. Thank you for where we are on the path of our life.
Be with us as we begin the year. Steady our hearts and our minds to be open to what is being constantly revealed through your loving presence.
Give us hope filled hearts – a warm and friendly attitude that is open to the movement of your spirit and to others.
Help us to be open and ready to respond to what is needed by embedding our new theme Make a difference ….. Anchored in Hope in our lives and in the lives of others. In you, we place our hope and trust as we ask for hour blessing for these things through Christ our Lord. Amen
Invitation to the Beginning of The Year Mass and Ash Wednesday
You are warmly invited to join the staff and children at our Beginning of the Year Mass on Tuesday 18th February at 9.15 in Cooinda. We hope you can join us as we pray for God’s blessing for the new school year.
Ash Wednesday Prayer Service will be celebrated on Wednesday 5th March at 12.30 in Cooinda. Please join us as we begin the season of Lent and the journey to Easter.
SACRAMENT DATES 2025
Confirmation Year 6
Compulsory Confirmation Meeting for Parents and children, Wednesday 6th March 6.00pm
Confirmation Ceremony will be celebrated at St. Christopher’s Church, 34 Roberts Rd, Airport West. The date is Friday 28th March at 6.00pm.
First Eucharist Year 4
Compulsory Eucharist meeting for Parents and children Thursday 8th May, 6.00pm.
First Eucharist Masses will be celebrated at St. Augustine’s Church, 100 Harrick Road, Keilor Park at 9.00am. The dates are as follows.
Year 3/4AT Ms Anne Sunday 18th May
Year 3/4S Ms Selena Sunday 25th May
Year 3/4C Mrs Carland Sunday 1st June
Reconciliation Year 3
Compulsory First Reconciliation meeting for Parents and children Wednesday 14th August at 6.00pm.
The First Reconciliation celebration will be celebrated at St. Christopher’s Church, 34 Roberts Rd, Airport West on Thursday 21st August at 6.00pm.
Our 2025 Theme and Image
This year’s theme, “Make a difference …. Anchored in Hope” is based and linked to Pope Francis proclaiming 2025 as a Jubilee Year. We believe that Christian hope is anchored in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Hope which is faith filled knows what it is to live in the presence of God; to walk with Jesus; and to believe in what might otherwise not be believed.
What is a Jubilee Year and the Biblical background?
Jubilee years have deep roots in both Christian and Jewish traditions. It is a time of pilgrimage, prayer, repentance and acts of mercy, based on the Old Testament tradition of a jubilee year of rest, forgiveness and renewal, involving the cancelling of debts, a period of rest for people and the earth, and land being restored to the landless. The word Jubilee comes from the Hebrew word yobel, which is a ram’s horn. This wind instrument is blown to mark the start of a Jubilee Year in the Bible. The earliest reference to a jubilee year is found in the Book of Leviticus 25:9.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus makes clear his own mission is to bring Jubilee. In the synagogue at Nazareth he reads from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favour:
“The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.” (Luke 4:18-19)
After reading, Jesus announces: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus shows us what God’s Kingdom of justice, compassion and freedom looks like. He invites us to join him in making it a reality.
In the Catholic Church, a Jubilee or Holy Year is a special year of forgiveness and reconciliation, in which people are invited to come back into right relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation. It is traditionally proclaimed every 25 years. It is a year set aside to encourage the faithful to embark on pilgrimages, to repent and forgive others, and to renew their spiritual life.
Beginning of the Jubilee Year
The Jubilee began on 24 December 2024, with the Opening of the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica, and runs to 6 January 2026, the Feast of the Epiphany, with the Closing of the Holy Door.
Holy Doors are a central symbol in Catholic Jubilees. For many Catholics, they are seen as a passage to salvation, a new beginning, and a deeper encounter with Chrits. According to the Vatican’s own website, ‘passing through the Holy Door signifies a deeper connection with Christ and a renewal of faith’.
St Augustines’s Staff Prayer for the beginning of the year. Opening our Holy Doors.
On Tuesday 28th of February the staff gathered to begin a new school year. We met at the carpark gate, were blessed with holy water and then began our own pilgrimage around the school. We acknowledged that each day our holy place is St Augustine’s. From the theme of Pope Francis we chose our theme “Make a difference ….. Anchored in Hope.” For us to be Anchored in Hope is the security of our hope in our God. The Bible says that hope is the anchor of our soul! It is sure and steadfast. Pope Francis declered the beginning of the Jubilee year by Opening the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica. As a staff we too open holy doors each day. We believe that each door we walk through leads to a place of encounter with each other, the parents, visitors and the beautiful children who arrive and not walk but run through the gate to be at school. At each holy door, gate and symbolic doors we prayed for the goodness that comes from walking through each door, for they reflect who we are as a staff. We prayed for parents and the children to know how valued they are as they too enter through the holy doors of St Augustine’s. We walk through many holy doors at St Augustine’s and we are blessed with the love of Jesus and the charism of our patron saint that will journey with us this Jubilee Year.
What is the theme and Logo of the Jubilee Year in 2025?
The theme is Pilgrims of Hope. As Pope Francis expressed it:
“We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision.”
Pope Francis has invited Catholics to renew our hope and discover a vision that can “restore access to the fruits of the earth to everyone”. We are also invited to rediscover a spirituality of God’s creation in which we understand ourselves as “pilgrims on the earth” rather than masters of the world. It will be a year of hope for a world suffering the impacts of war, the ongoing effects of COVID-19 pandemic, and a climate crisis.
What does the official logo of the Jubilee 2025 mean?
The logo shows four stylized figures, representing all of humanity, coming from the four corners of the earth. They embrace each other to indicate the solidarity and fraternity which should unite all peoples. The figure at the front is holding onto the cross. It is not only the sign of the faith which this lead figure embraces, but also of hope, which can never be abandoned, because we are always in need of hope, especially in our moments of greatest need. There are the rough waves under the figures, symbolising the fact that life’s pilgrimage does not always go smoothly in calm waters. Often the circumstances of daily life and events in the wider world require a greater call to hope. That’s why we should pay special attention to the lower part of the cross which has been elongated and turned into the shape of an anchor which is let down into the waves. The anchor is well known as a symbol of hope.
What do Catholics do during a Jubilee Year?
The Jubilee Year is an opportunity to respond to God’s call to turn to him and to pursue justice. Often people will go on pilgrimage during a Jubilee year, to Rome or another holy site. Pope Francis writes:
“Pilgrimage is of course a fundamental element of every Jubilee event. Setting out on a journey is traditionally associated with our human quest for meaning in life. A pilgrimage on foot is a great aid for rediscovering the value of silence, effort and simplicity of life.” (Spes non confundit #5)
Celebrations are expected to see over 30 million visitors head to Rome over the next 12 months. Bishops worldwide are encouraged to designate their cathedrals or other significant churches as special pilgrimage sites.
Things to do in the Jubilee Year
- Forgive those who have hurt you or have done you wrong.
- Go to Reconciliation regularly
- Read and meditate on the Sacred Scriptures, especially the Gospel of Luke.
- Perform one or more works of mercy every day.
- Go on a pilgrimage – visit designated cathedrals or other significant churches in your own country as special pilgrimage sites.
